


purity in abundance

by beemblebummed



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 07:39:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7882486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beemblebummed/pseuds/beemblebummed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>listen i just wanted to write some sappy happy Kate/Jethro shit, don't judge me man</p><p>also nyeheh you should look into the origins of the names "Caitlin" & "Jethro" & then refer to the title of this fic</p>
            </blockquote>





	purity in abundance

**Author's Note:**

> triggers / squicks  
> \- alcohol mentioned

“I’m not _hurting_ myself _,_ Kate.”

Caitlin scoffs at that, not impressed by him at all, and crosses her arms. He works away at his boat on handed, the other out of commission and in a sling, but she doesn’t break, holding her gaze steadily on him, impatient and annoyed. She waits until he looks back up at her, soon standing and stepping closer to her, his face only inches from hers now.

“I’m not… hurt,” he says again.

Her gaze hardens and she gives him that Kate look, where she tilts her head ever so slightly, lips parted just a bit, as though she had worked out a sentence, and then it was lost in translation, and she has to form it again. She has to think about her sarcastic replies, deciding which degree of burn she wants to deliver.

“Denial is the first step to acceptance,” is what she goes with.

His blue eyes narrow and he leans in a bit closer, his nose bumping into Kate’s. “Is that right, Kate?” he asks, his voice low and neutral.

She tilts her head the other way, keeping eye contact with the man, and then she delivers a quick kiss to his lips, smiling as she does. “Statistics say so, and you know how reliable numbers are, Jethro. Why don’t we go for a drive? My treat. I will even help you with your boat when we get back.”

This is where Gibbs snorts and the gently knocks his forehead against Caitlin’s. “I think I prefer the driving _only_. Don’t want you to break this.”

She laughs and turns, heading for the stairs. “I’m offended you think I would be so irresponsible as to damage your boat— I’ve watched you do it long enough, haven’t I?” she adds with a look over her shoulder that gives her the appearance of childish, goofy; the side of her people rarely ever see.

Jethro joins her at the staircase, following her up with a shake of her head, amused ever still. “Lots of people watch crime investigation related TV, but we don’t just hire someone who watches TV of our jobs, do we?”

Kate’s hand moves from her side to gently take hold of the man’s good hand, giving it the lightest of squeezes as they walk in unison towards the door. “Got me there, actually. I won’t touch your boat, Jethro, you have my word.”

They get to the car and Kate helps Gibbs into the passenger seat, helping him get the seatbelt around him and then moving to climb into the driver’s seat. Once the vehicle is started and they’re off, Caitlin feels a light hand on her knee, glancing over after to give him a funny look. He doesn’t look to her, however, so he supposedly doesn’t see the expression on her face, though he _does_ smile just a bit, hinting at the fact that he is aware of the reaction he’s getting.

“Anywhere in particular you plan on takin’ me?” Gibbs inquires.

“Mm… nope, just driving,” she answers after a short silent contemplation, “unless you _wanted_ to go somewhere specific?”

He mimics her tone as he answers, “Mm, nope.”

A small snort is how she responds to that, nodding her head. “In that case, destination: nowhere!”

Jethro actually laughs now, as short and small as it is, looking over at his partner with a grin that rarely ever graces his face among people. It takes a special person, a special situation, to get such a genuine look of delight out of him.

“You seem rather chipper tonight, Caitlin,” he says. “You sure there’s nothin’ you wanna tell me?”

She grins. “You’re imagining things, Jethro. I’m sure.”

“Uh-huh.”

Less than half an hour later, Kate’s car pulls into the driveway of Ducky’s place, coming to a halt just a few yards in front of three illuminated figures. Once the lights dim, Gibbs can easily make out Abby, Tony, and Ducky himself, all of them smiling. He had noticed, obviously, where they at the very least, _could_ have been going, but had said nothing in response to it. Abby is already at his door, pulling it open before he can say anything to Caitlin now. She greets him with an excited “Gibbs!” and helps him out, embracing him as warmly as she can while being as _careful_ as she can.

He can practically hear Kate’s smug grin, not looking at her as Abby puts an arm around his back, leading him towards the other two friends. Caitlin comes up to stand on the forensic specialist’s other side, peering around behind her head at the silver haired man, who only now looks back.

“You lied to me, Todd,” he says, though he sounds anything but betrayed.

“That’s what I like to call a white lie, Gibbs,” she tells him.

Abby giggles from between them, laying her head briefly over on Kate’s shoulder as Jethro comments, “Still a lie.”

Once shown inside, Gibbs finds that Timothy, Jimmy, and Ziva are there as well. They all greet the newest arrivals with glee, the majority of them all holding glasses of what Gibbs assumes to be wine. He smiles, looking around in an attempt to find out why this is happening specifically.

He’s lead to a couch by Abby, who more or less clings to him, as excited as ever. Everyone else finds a seat in the living area, Jethro being offered a glass by Ducky before the medical practitioner sits.

“What’s this all about?” he finally asks, glancing at Abby, who is mostly preventing him from bringing his glass to his mouth. “Everyone’s here, what’s the occasion and why the surprise?”

“Well, there’s not really a… _specific_ reason,” Tony says, grinning. “We know you’re feeling under the weather, boss, we just wanted to give you a reason to not be.”

Ziva nods. “Tony is correct— both you and Caitlin have seemed as though you needed a bit of cheering out recently.”

“Cheering up,” Tony whispers in passing to Ziva.

Ducky chortles and shakes his head. “The point is, Jethro, we just wanted a reason to get you out of you basement in a pleasant, _not_ straining way. We wanted to spend some time with you in good spirit!”

Abby lets off of the man once she realizes he hasn’t been able to get at his drink, whispering a soft apology as he finally gets a drink, to which he acknowledges it with a nod, no malice in his face. He contemplates the taste for a moment and then blinks, looking at Ducky curiously.

“Most of us drove here, are you planning on letting us stay over?” he says, the realization that if this alcohol is strong enough, any of them or most of them could get very drunk. “Driving under the influence isn’t exactly a stellar idea.”

“Of course, Jethro! Good lord! What kind of man do you think I am!” the doctor exclaims, causing a few laughs. “There’s plenty of room for everyone, and I expect _everyone_ who has ingested any of this to stay. So help me, I will hide car keys if it were to come to it.”

Caitlin nods. “I wouldn’t expect any less of you, Ducky. Thank you for what you’ve already done— it means a lot to all of us, that much I’m sure of.”

“Hear, hear!” Abby cries.

The night is spent with simple chatting, drinking, and hanging out. It’s two in the morning before everyone is at least settled down, though some of them are still up. Jethro and Kate are among that number, sitting up on the same couch with the latter’s head resting on the former’s shoulder and his head on hers. Abby is to Kate’s side, her head in the woman’s lap as she sleeps soundly.

Kate feels Gibbs’ lips touch her temple and smiles as he murmurs, “So how long have you all been planning this?”

She carefully shifts, closing her eyes as she responds softly, “A little bit after you did that to your arm. It was Ducky’s idea, actually. Abby is the one who blew it up, but they wanted my help. They were convinced only I would be able to get you out of your basement.”

He chuckles. “S’that so?”

“Oh, yeah,” Kate says, almost laughing. “Being your girlfriend has its perks; it’s easy for me to get you to do everything I want.”

“Ah, of course,” the man says, leaving a second kiss on her head. “Well, I can’t really say that’s false, seeing that you got me out of the basement and down here. You’re very convincing, you should become some kind of law enforcement officer, you know.”

That last comment is added with a light tone of sarcasm, the tease in his voice giving Kate a reason to really laugh this time, even if it’s low and not nearly loud enough to startle anyone. “Yeah, what a neat idea, Gibbs,” she says. “I will _definitely_ take that into consideration, it sounds like a plan.”

“Well, I’m very perceptive. More than you give me credit for,” he continues, grinning as Kate’s elbow playfully digs into his side. “All right, all right, I’m done. Let’s get some sleep, hm?”

“Better plan, no sarcasm intended,” Kate murmurs, nodding as she settles into his body’s warmth, further comforted as his arm moves to wrap around her shoulders. “Good night, Jethro.”

“Good night, Katie.”


End file.
